Jules Verne était-il écologiste ?

International audiencePartant des principaux personnages de "20 000 Lieues sous les mers", on rapproche avec humour les propos de Jules Verne et les idées écologistes des années 1980

Chimie et Littérature : À propos de l'apparition du 'Beilstein' dans quelques textes de littérature générale

International audienceAbout the 'Beilstein' in general literature.- During chemical research, especially those dealing with the synthesis of organic molecules, the chemists frequently have to refer to THE 'Beilstein'. What is more astonishing is to also find quotations for this unique compilation of data in books currently available to the readers of general literature. This paper points out some of these occurrences within novels by Isaac Asimov and Primo Levi (two authors with an initial education in organic chemistry).Quand des chimistes sont engagés dans de la synthèse organique, ils ont fréquemment l'occasion d'utiliser " LE Beilstein ", un traité qui recense les propriétés et les méthodes de synthèses d'un grand nombre de molécules. Par contre, il est surprenant de retrouver une allusion à cette compilation dans des romans ou essais de littérature générale, plus destinés à un public de non-spécialistes. Cet article présente certaines de ces apparitions, signées d'Isaac Asimov ou de Primo Levi (qui avaient tous deux une formation initiale en chimie organique)

"Le Chant du Styrène" : Étude Chimico-Psychanalytique

texte dactylographié, 17 pages, incluant 2 documents; avec références.International audienceDans ce travail "à deux voix", on discute le texte du poème de Raymond Queneau "Le Chant du Styrène", d'une part d'un point de vue scientifique, d'autre part du point de vue de la psycho-critique littéraire. Ainsi, on explique la genèse du texte, en le reliant aux procédés industriels de la production du polystyrène, mais aussi à partir de l'histoire personnelle de l'auteur. Diverses comparaisons inédites sont présentées

Comprendre les pollutions par les métaux

International audienceUnderstanding metals pollutions Either from natural or anthropic origin, be it normal or accidental (Tchernobyl), metallic elements are found everywhere in our environment. After a presentation of their repartition and mobility in water, sediments or soils, the mechanisms allowing their dispersion or their concentration are shown. Finally, transfers between environmental compartments are presented, before evoking the case of polluted sites: diagnostic, remediation and long-time management

Chromium and nickel mobilization from a contaminated soil using chelants

International audienceThe mobilization of chromium and nickel from an industrial soil was investigated using two biodegradable chelants (citric acid and histidine), compared with a persistent one (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid). Successive metal mobilizations were carried out in batch experiments. The main reactions involved were estimated by modelling the system with MINEQL+. For a single mobilization, citric acid was the most effective for Cr mobilization and EDTA for Ni. Their effectiveness could be explained by their ability to solubilize the mineral matrix and by the competition for the surfaces sites to desorb Cr(VI). Before and after the mobilizations, the distribution of metals was determined by a sequential extraction procedure. Only slight modifications were observed due to the low percentage of solubilized metal. A concentration of 0.05 mol.L-1 (citric acid and EDTA) allows a good compromise between metal mobilization and preservation of the soil mineral integrit

Literature & Geosciences: Jules Verne’s geological novels, from the 19th to the 21st century

A friend of both François Arago, who founded the Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, and his brother Jacques, a renowned traveler, Jules Verne (1828–1905) wrote many novels in which his heroes made use of the most recent scientific knowledge of the time. While the novelist only really had a legal background, he did keep himself apprised of all the latest scientific developments. This study, based on a selection of novels wherein geology is very present as well as on contemporary or current scientific publications, shows that today’s understanding of the geosciences does indeed agree with Jules Verne’s extrapolations. Among the subjects developed are: coal extraction and the hazards of firedamp, so-called “mud volcanoes” and the special case of gold trickling from volcanoes, diamond geo-genesis, the creation of an inland sea in the Sahara, and a foretelling of the Anthropocene Epoch

Literature & Geosciences: Jules Verne’s geological novels, from the 19th to the 21st century

A friend of both François Arago, who founded the Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, and his brother Jacques, a renowned traveler, Jules Verne (1828–1905) wrote many novels in which his heroes made use of the most recent scientific knowledge of the time. While the novelist only really had a legal background, he did keep himself apprised of all the latest scientific developments. This study, based on a selection of novels wherein geology is very present as well as on contemporary or current scientific publications, shows that today’s understanding of the geosciences does indeed agree with Jules Verne’s extrapolations. Among the subjects developed are: coal extraction and the hazards of firedamp, so-called “mud volcanoes” and the special case of gold trickling from volcanoes, diamond geo-genesis, the creation of an inland sea in the Sahara, and a foretelling of the Anthropocene Epoch

Static Sorption of Phenol and 4-Nitrophenol onto Composite Geomaterials based on Montmorillonite, Activated Carbon and Cement

International audienceThis paper studies the sorption of phenol and 4-nitrophenol (4NP) onto solid sorbents derived from mixtures of montmorillonite, activated carbon (AC) and cement, denoted herein MACC. These materials are mesoporous and some of their physicochemical properties have been measured and discussed. The weight fraction X1 (%) of montmorillonite in the mixtures strongly influences the sorbate removal rate. The sorption isotherms were experimentally established by batch testing on geomaterials with various X1 values at 20 °C and at different pH values (from 3 to 8). The Langmuir model correctly fits the sorption isotherm data (R2 > 0.95). The results show increased sorption behavior for both phenol and 4NP on the composite geomaterials compared to the pure components, yielding the order: MACC > AC > montmorillonite

Adsorption of copper, cadmium, lead and zinc onto a synthetic manganese oxide

International audienceDue to its simple and inexpensive synthesis, a new amorphous hydrous manganese oxide (AMO) has been studied as a possible chemical stabilizing agent for soils contaminated with metals. Preliminary experiments evaluating the stability of AMO in pure water have reported only minor dissolution (5.70% and 0.24% depending on the w/v ratio). Sorption kinetics have shown fast metal adsorption, especially for Pb. The sorption capacities of AMO for Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn have been described and compared with synthetic birnessite for pH 4 and 5.5. Both oxides show similar sorption capacities at pH 4 despite the fact that birnessite characteristics (pH of zero point charge, specific surface area and cation exchange capacity) are more favorable for metal sorption. Moreover, the pH adsorption-edges show that the AMO is more pH-dependent than birnessite

Repartition of various soluble and insoluble species in supersaturated solutions

Abstract: The hydrated ion-pair model for uncharged soluble species in equilibrium with many solid polymorphs is applied to examples fiom various fields of interest. The role of such precursors and their changes on ageing can explain the often observed evolution of a hydrated precipitate to successively more dehydrated solid forms. The cases studied concern the precipitation of calcium carbonates, oxalates and phosphates